The Fall of the New Republic
by Jerome K Eriksson
Summary: Several years after ROTJ Jedi Master Luke Skywalker detects an ominous presence in the Force that grows as the New Republic collapses from within. Can the Jedi prevent a catastrophe in time or will the New Republic be destined to the same fate as the Old?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This here is my first-ever attempt at fan fiction, and I'd appreciate any comments at all. Thanks! Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.

**Chapter 1**

It was nearly dawn on Coruscant, and the beginning of a new day approached as the sun crept slowly toward the horizon. Not surprisingly, several hundred billion beings were in the process of rising to begin a rather typical work week on, what was to them, a rather typical planet that coincidentally was the center of the galaxy's main trade routes and the galaxy's wealthiest and most influential world.

In 500 Republica, many people had recently emerged from night clubs with the idea in mind of going back home and straight to sleep only to discover, unfortunately, that they would have less than an hour before having to rise and head directly to work or school. For politicians, dawn signaled the start of tedious negotiations and skillful manipulations, a new opportunity to bring in more wealth for the benefit of a glorious new republic and, for a dishonest few, for their own personal benefit. Vendors were already taking to the streets searching for prospective buyers, and by then thieves had already done the same searching for prospective victims.

All in all, it was a rather typical day at the beginning of a rather typical work week in what was a rather typical life for an inhabitant of Coruscant.

In a nearly empty apartment building far above ground level and aloof to the daily dealings of wealthy businesspeople, nefarious criminals, hip teenagers, and shady politicians, a solitary figure stood before a window, gazing out upon the Coruscanti skyline, extending his awareness of the world around him through the Force as he had done countless times before.

Today, however, the man sensed something obscure in the horizon, though he could pinpoint neither its source nor its meaning. It was neither the dishonesty of the merchants nor the thievery of the burglars nor the late-night activities of the teenagers nor the corruption of the politicians that bothered Jedi Master Luke Skywalker; it was the vague and ominous presence on the horizon that deeply affected him so.

It would be something to meditate upon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

In another apartment nearby, a frustrated woman sat on a chair before a desk on which dozens and dozens of papers were spread out in a layout quite similar to how they had been six hours earlier, when the woman first sat down to look over them before her early morning meeting with several off-world diplomats. Realizing that she had failed to accomplish anything more than blankly stare at the materials in front of her for the past night, Chief of State Leia Organa-Solo rose out of her chair, wondering how she could lead an expanding New Republic when she couldn't even resolve a routine trade disagreement between several New Republic members. As she looked at the clock on the desk, which read 0700, Leia finally noticed that she was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and – late! The Chief of State quickly stacked the papers together and hurried to get her husband to take her to the Senate as fast as was humanly possible. To her chagrin and to his misfortune, Leia found her husband asleep in their bed when he should have been awake nearly an hour before. She pulled him as hard as she could off the bed and onto the floor, where he landed with a loud thud, waking him in the process.

"What was that for?!" Han bellowed as he picked himself up from the floor dressed in boxers and a shirt.

Leia simply glared at him, and Han could have sworn that if she were as Force-sensitive as her brother, he would be dead by now. The former Alliance General closed his eyes as he awaited his wife's response. _Here we go again._

"You should have been awake an hour ago, and now I'm late to my meeting! Get in the speeder and take me to the Senate, now!" Leia shouted as loud as possible, in the process ensuring that her voice could be heard throughout Coruscant.

"Yes, your highnessness!" Han mock saluted as he quickly picked himself up and ran out the door while Leia, close behind, gathered her papers and followed him to the speeder.

* * *

The New Republic Senate was, arguably, one of the largest buildings on Coruscant. Its metallic exterior was, at that time of the morning, illuminated by a bright sun, and the light reflected off of its outer walls like a mirror except for the millions of openings which indicated where windows and the offices, hallways, and conference rooms behind them were located. Thousands of people and aliens alike had already entered the grand structure which stood as a symbol of the New Republic and everything for which its founders had strived.

Han Solo knew he had broken at least half of Coruscant's speeding laws in the process of getting his desperate wife to her meeting with several diplomats in one of the Senate's numerous conference rooms. _Why does she go through this on a day when she's not supposed to be working_, he rhetorically asked himself with a frown. _If she considers a meeting with those pompous, arrogant diplomats more important than spending quality time with her husband and three kids, then so be it! Hopefully the negotiations stall so she gets to spend more time with those who mean more to her than her own family._ The silence in which they traveled in the speeder spoke volumes about how each of the speeder's occupants felt. In the passenger's seat, Leia was anxious to get to the Senate, no matter the consequences. The only words she had spoken to Han since berating him were telling him that he could break any speeding law he had to as long as she wasn't more than fifteen minutes late for the 0700 meeting. If he was...well, Leia had left that threat unfinished, and Han took the hint, pushing the speeder to its maximum speed.

The speeder reached the entrance of the Senate at 0708, and Leia jumped out of the speeder without as much as a glance at her husband, who by then had a sour look on his face. Han, just as coldly as Leia, took off without a second look to go back to the apartment and look after their three children.

Leia sprinted through the Senate at full speed and failed to notice the questioning looks on the faces of the people who gathered in the hallway for small talk before opening their offices at 0800. She reached Conference Room A670 panting and sweating at 0711 and tried to calm herself before entering; there would be negotiating if she wasn't calm and collected.

As she opened the door, Leia found herself face to face with the last thing she expected: the room was empty. Not one of the chairs had been pulled out, and no papers were in sight. The Chief of State was completely and utterly confused; she remembered that her aide had informed her of this meeting and remembered looking at her schedule and seeing it at 0700. Leia walked down to her office and found her aide, who looked surprised to see her.

"Good morning, Leia. May I ask what you are doing here?" her aide asked, bemused.

"Do I have any meetings for today, Winter?"

"Only the one that you're supposed to be at right now with the representatives from some of the Core planets," Winter asked slightly amused after taking in Leia's appearance; she looked as if she had run a marathon.

"No one is there," Leia told her, and Winter's expression at once changed from being amused to being worried.

"Are you sure no one is at the conference room?"

"Here, come so you can see for yourself."

Leia and Winter walked off from the Chief of State's office toward the conference room, but they were unaware of a cloaked figure entering the office after they had left.

* * *

After several hours of meditation and no descriptions as to what the vague presence Luke had felt in the Force might be, he decided it would be better to walk around outside and allow the Force to lead him to wherever it needed to take him.

He gathered his cloak and firmly attached his lightsaber to his belt and concealed it, hoping that he was being overly cautious and also that he could blend in with the other humans on Coruscant. As he stepped outside, the Jedi Master intuitively opened himself to the Force, allowing the city-planet's natural and artificial surroundings and inhabitants to envelop him.

Curiously, Luke noticed a weak Force presence in the Senate building not emanating from its typical senators and others, and he assumed that it was only his sister, working early as she usually did. Sensing nothing wrong, Luke continued walking down the street, though a part of him felt as if there was more than met the eye.

* * *

Leia and Winter arrived at the conference room and found it exactly as Leia had ten minutes before.

"This is strange..." Winter thought aloud, wondering what might have made the diplomats leave so quickly or (it was possible) never come.

Winter and Leia left and started walking silently toward the Chief of State's office when Leia felt something in the Force and stopped suddenly in the middle of the hallway.

"Leia, are you alright?" Winter asked, concerned about her friend's behavior.

"Yes, yes...I'm fine. I just felt something. It was...very strange. Don't worry about it, though," she added.

"Winter, when we get back would you mind calling the representatives' respective embassies and inquire as to why they didn't appear today?" Leia asked her aide, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Of course I will," Winter told one of her closest friends.

Neither noticed a cloaked figure walk out of Leia's office as they were talking and close the door behind it, and they continued their walk toward the office in a tense silence.


End file.
